A new analysis from Bitwise Asset Management outlines four crypto sectors that gained unexpected business advantages following the Senate's failure to advance the CLARITY Act in a September 15 procedural vote. Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, stated in his September 30 analysis that the outcome allowed the industry to sacrifice long-term certainty while retaining certain current operational structures.
Stablecoin Platforms and Customer Rewards
The stablecoin sector benefited by retaining the ability to offer customers rewards on balances. The proposed bill's restrictions, which carried penalties reaching $5 million per violation, threatened those incentives. While the GENIUS Act enacted on July 18, 2025, prohibits issuers from paying yield tied solely to holding payment stablecoins, third-party incentives remain an opening.
Crypto exchange Coinbase utilizes these incentives to attract customers and was identified as a major beneficiary. The analysis notes that resistance from traditional banks likely helps stablecoins capture market share from the traditional financial system.
Exchanges Retain Licensing and Brokerage Advantages
Established trading operators kept licensing and brokerage advantages that the proposed legislation had threatened. A national licensing framework would have eased entry for traditional financial firms. Instead, Coinbase and Kraken retain advantages under the existing state licensing system.
Furthermore, the legislation would have constrained exchanges from combining trading venues and brokerage services. Preserving the combined model avoids higher operational costs associated with separating trade matching and order handling.
Tokenization Platforms Secure Testing Opportunities
Businesses tokenizing financial assets gained testing opportunities following an SEC action. On September 17, the SEC issued a five-year tokenized stock trading exemption allowing qualifying venues to use permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools. This temporary relief exempts qualifying venues from the legal definition of an exchange, subject to stock eligibility and trading-volume restrictions.
Hougan highlighted Securitize, which tokenizes funds for institutions such as Blackrock, Apollo, and KKR, as a beneficiary of this immediate testing path compared to years of anticipated rulemaking under the bill.
Token Buybacks and Market Gains
Revenue-generating tokens that use platform fees to repurchase supply formed the fourth category. Following the vote, the analysis reported gains of 104% for NEAR, 49% for Uniswap, 19% for Pump, 15% for Hyperliquid, and 10% for Lighter.
Updated SEC staff guidance on September 28 addressed token buybacks, stating that for a non-security asset on a functional system with no central party, a repurchase announcement would not constitute a promise of expected profits. However, risks remain, including the potential for a future administration taking office in January 2029 to appoint regulators with a harder line, though growing involvement by major financial firms makes reversals less likely.
